Turkey Soup Recipe

Well, no one expressly asked for it, but I thought I'd post it anyway...and maybe a few of you who've never had turkey soup will enjoy trying something new!

HOMEMADE TURKEY SOUP

From: The Halbur Kitchen

Directions for homemade broth:
Cook 1 large turkey in your roaster or pan with water in the bottom covering half the turkey. After the turkey is cooked, pour off the broth. To make extra broth, save all the turkey bones, skin, etc. Place turkey waste in a large pot, cover with water and slow cook for 6 to 8 hours. (We usually cook ours overnight and wake up to turn it off). Pour off broth and discard waste. If you desire low-fat broth, let all broth chill in your refrigerator until set. The fat will float to the top and harden. It can then be easily discarded.

Ingredients:
Add the following measurements of ingredients to about 8 cups of broth. If you have more than 8 cups, you can just add more of each ingredient. Some people may like to add more or less of each ingredient anyway, depending whether they want more broth in their soup or more stock. Therefore, the following is a guideline.

- 2 cups brown rice or noodles (If rice, add as soon as you start cooking soup. If using noodles, add 10 minutes before soup is done.)
- 1 large chopped onion
- 6 or more cloves of fresh garlic
- 2 cups cut-up turkey meat
- 3 cups largely cut carrots
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- "Mrs. Dash" seasoning OR "Pleasoning"
- Other favorite soup seasonings if desired
Note: No MSG or boullion is needed for a good turkey flavor if you make your own broth.

Variations:
1 to 2 cups of the following ingredients can be added to your soup. We have tried them all, and have found that any or all of them are very tasty.

- Green peas (add at the end otherwise they’ll get mushy)
- Grated zucchini
- Chopped broccoli
- Chopped cauliflower
- Chopped green beans
- Any of your other favorite vegetables

Cooking Directions:
Add all ingredients and simmer soup until carrots are soft. If you used rice, is should be soft as well as broccoli, cauliflower, etc. We usually serve the soup with cheese and crackers. Note: We often freeze our leftover soup in labeled plastic containers...a great "instant" meal and a much healthier alternative to TV dinners. :)

Makes 8 to 12 servings.